FAMILY TIES
by Kim Dreamcatcher
Summary: 1ST IN SERIES: A father and his daughter may be the key to a secret formula Dr. Wily needs to make his robots stronger than ever.


FAMILY TIES  
  
Author's Note: All of my MegaMan fics are based on the cartoon show, not any of the games. As you already know, MegaMan and all the other characters (except for mine, of course) are owned by Capcom.  
  
"So, Doc, how long has it been since you've seen Mr. Stoutenburg?" MegaMan asked curiously. He was riding in the front passenger seat of the van, with his surrogate father, Dr. Light, driving, and his sister, Roll, sitting in the backseat with Rush, MegaMan's faithful robotic dog.  
  
"I haven't seen my old friend, Jason, in over ten years," Dr. Light replied as he stopped at a red light in the middle of the city. "I remember the last time I saw Jason. It was at Kennedy Airport. Jason was leaving for California to work at a major law firm, along with his wife and his young daughter, Miranda."  
  
"So, why has he come back all this way, Dr. Light? Is he taking a vacation?" Roll asked.  
  
"Yeah, yeah!" Rush barked.  
  
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Roll. Unfortunately, Jason's father, Dr. Stoutenburg, passed away recently," Dr. Light revealed as the light turned green and he turned left at the intersection. "Dr. Stoutenburg was a brilliant scientist when it came to robotics. I was fortunate to listen to him lecture as a guest speaker during my college years. From what I understand, Jason and his family plan on staying here until the estate has been settled, but he hasn't decided yet on whether they'll be living here permanently." As they were passing a bank, the sound of alarm bells filled the street as two masked men carrying sacks full of money ran out of the bank entrance.  
  
"Hold it, Dr. Light! That bank's being robbed. I gotta stop them!" MegaMan shouted.  
  
Dr. Light nodded as he quickly pulled over to the side of the street.  
  
"Oh, no! It's MegaMan!" one of the robbers shouted when he saw MegaMan get out of the van, followed by Rush.  
  
"Hurry! Get in the car!" the other robber shouted as they got into a nearby car and took off.  
  
"Not so fast!" MegaMan shouted as he aimed for the rear tires with his plasma cannon and fired a small blast of plasma power. The plasma blast hit one of the rear tires, causing it to explode into small rubber chunks.  
  
"Oh, shoot! I'm losing control of this thing!" the robber that was driving shouted as he desperately tried to keep the disabled car on the road.  
  
"Ruff-ruff! Yay, Mega!" Rush cheered.  
  
"It's not over yet, Rush!" MegaMan gasped when he saw the out-of-control car heading towards a line of people crossing the street at a crosswalk further along the street.  
  
Realizing that the car wasn't going to stop, the people panicked as they ran in different directions to get out of the street. During the confusion, one girl got knocked down directly in the path of the runaway vehicle.  
  
"Ahh!" the girl screamed out of terror.  
  
"Come on, boy! Let's jet!" MegaMan told Rush.  
  
"Ruff, yeah!" Rush barked as he converted into jet mode. MegaMan quickly jumped on top of Rush as they took off, barely getting ahead of the car. MegaMan jumped off of Rush and landed in front of the girl, who had her eyes closed tightly in fear, apparently bracing herself for the impact.  
  
Using his robotic strength, MegaMan pushed the car back with his hands until the engine finally died out. He turned his head towards the blonde- haired girl and asked, "Are you okay?"  
  
The girl opened her violet eyes and gasped slightly out of astonishment. She couldn't believe her eyes. A young boy dressed in blue had apparently stopped the runaway car with his bare hands.  
  
"Yeah, I think so," the girl whispered.  
  
MegaMan then returned his attention back to the robbers in the car. "Looks like your ride's been canceled, boys. But you'll be getting a free ride...to jail!"  
  
"Uh-oh!" the two robbers groaned as they looked at each other...  
  
"Thanks for stopping these robbers, MegaMan," a human police officer thanked MegaMan as his robotic partner put the now unmasked robbers, both in handcuffs, in the back of the patrol car. "This is the third bank they struck this week."  
  
"No problem. Just doing what I was programmed to do," MegaMan admitted.  
  
The police officer nodded in response and turned to his partner, who had just closed the backdoor of the patrol car. "Let's move out."  
  
"Roger that," the second officer replied as they both got into the patrol car and drove away.  
  
MegaMan's blue eyes focused on the girl he just saved, who was sitting on the edge of the sidewalk. The young girl was dressed in a red pleated skirt, a short-sleeved white blouse, a red tie, white knee socks, and brown loafers.  
  
"Are you all right, miss?" MegaMan asked curiously as he approached the girl.  
  
"I'm fine," the young girl replied.  
  
"What about your arm?" MegaMan asked, pointing at a bandage wrapped around the girl's elbow.  
  
"It's no big deal," the girl explained. "I just scraped my elbow when I fell. Thank you for saving me...umm, I'm sorry. I don't know your name."  
  
"You don't?" MegaMan asked a bit out of surprise.  
  
"Sorry, but I don't. You see, I just moved back here with my dad, and it's been a few years since we were here last," the girl explained.  
  
"That makes sense. I'm MegaMan," MegaMan introduced himself. "And this is my pal, Rush."  
  
"Ruff-ruff! Hi!" Ruff barked rapidly.  
  
"MegaMan..." the girl muttered to herself. "So that means you were created by Dr. Light?"  
  
"Yes, I am. How did you know?" MegaMan asked curiously.  
  
"My grandfather told me all about you in his letters to me," the girl confessed as she stood up. "He told me everything he knew about the Blue Bomber known as MegaMan. I should have figured it out sooner. There was no way that a human boy could have stopped a speeding car with his bare hands."  
  
"If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Miranda, Miranda Stoutenburg," the girl introduced herself.  
  
"Stoutenburg? You wouldn't happen to know Jason Stoutenburg, would you?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"Yeah, he's my father. Oh, now I remember! My dad is friends with Dr. Light, and he invited him over for dinner today!" Miranda recalled.  
  
"Well, if you want, we can give you a ride home, since we're all going to the same place," MegaMan offered.  
  
"Sure, thanks, MegaMan!" Miranda replied as she, MegaMan, and Rush walked over to the van, where Dr. Light and Roll were waiting.  
  
"Who's that, Mega?" Roll asked curiously.  
  
"This is Miranda Stoutenburg," MegaMan introduced.  
  
"Miranda, it's good to see you again," Dr. Light admitted. "I haven't seen you since you were six."  
  
"Good to see you, too, Dr. Light," Miranda replied.  
  
"Miranda, this is Roll, my sister," MegaMan announced.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Miranda," Roll admitted.  
  
"Same here, Roll," Miranda replied as she shook hands with Roll.  
  
"Come now. We better get going," Dr. Light suggested as he, MegaMan, Roll, Rush, and Miranda headed for the van...  
  
"Dr. Light! It's good to see you, my old friend!" Mr. Stoutenburg exclaimed as he let Dr. Light, MegaMan, Roll, Rush, and Miranda inside the house. Mr. Stoutenburg was a middle-aged man with thinning brown hair and brown eyes, and he was wearing a navy blue suit with a sky blue dress shirt and black dress shoes.  
  
"It's good to see you, too, Jason," Dr. Light agreed. "Where's your wife, Caitlin?"  
  
"Umm...Caitlin died...over a year ago," Jason sadly confessed. "She was in a bad car accident."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Jason," Dr. Light apologized.  
  
"Thanks, Dr. Light. Dinner should be finished in half an hour. Why don't we go into the library for the time being?" Jason suggested. "We have a lot of catching up to do."  
  
"I definitely agree with you, Jason," Dr. Light agreed as he and Jason headed for a nearby door.  
  
"Miranda, why don't you give MegaMan and Roll a little tour of the house?" Jason asked his daughter.  
  
"All right, Dad," Miranda agreed. "Well, first of all, this used to be my grandfather's house. He left it to us in his will. Right now, we're in the main hall. This stairway leads upstairs to the bedrooms and bathrooms. Follow me and I'll show you the living room, the kitchen, and the dining room."  
  
"Sure, Miranda," MegaMan replied as he, Roll, and Rush followed Miranda into a large living room. They soon ended up in another room containing a large rectangular table with six chairs around it, each with a complete place setting, and a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling.  
  
"This is the dining room, and right through here's the kitchen," Miranda revealed as she headed to a pair of swinging doors on the opposite side of the dining room.  
  
Inside of the kitchen, there was a female robot preparing a roast in the oven. She resembled a plump middle-aged woman with short brown hair and brown eyes, and she wore a light blue dress, white apron, and white shoes.  
  
"This is Rose, the robot housekeeper," Miranda explained. "My grandfather built her to take care of things around the house and also to take care of him when he first became sick."  
  
"Dinner will be ready shortly, Miss Miranda," Rose replied in a slight British accent. "Besides the roast, I've prepared micro-fish and chips for MegaMan and Roll. And for the robo-dog, I've purchased a box of battery biscuits."  
  
"Yeah! Yum, yum!" Rush cheered as he licked his lips.  
  
"I guess Rush loves his battery biscuits!" Miranda admitted.  
  
"You have no idea!" Roll remarked.  
  
"Come on. Let's go to the library," Miranda suggested as they left the kitchen. Miranda, MegaMan, Roll, and Rush soon entered a small library with hundreds of books stacked on the tall shelves lining three of the four walls. In the middle of the library was a large desk and two black leather chairs, where Jason and Dr. Light were sitting.  
  
"This is my grandfather's library. He keeps all of his old notes and all of the science books he's collected over the years in here. We would visit him every summer, and I used to spend hours in here reading my grandpa's books," Miranda revealed. "I guess I got my love of science from him."  
  
"Sounds like you and your grandfather were close," MegaMan confessed.  
  
"Yeah, we were very close, MegaMan," Miranda admitted. "My grandfather gave me this the last time I saw him." Miranda showed MegaMan and Roll a large gold locket hanging from her neck. She opened it up to reveal a picture of her grandfather inside. "I never take it off."  
  
"It's a shame about your father, Jason. He was a brilliant man and will be missed by everyone in the scientific community," Dr. Light told Jason.  
  
"I know, Dr. Light. From my last conversations with my father, I believe he was on the verge of creating a special formula for robots," Jason revealed.  
  
"What kind of formula?" MegaMan asked curiously.  
  
"My father never gave me the full details, but from what I understood, this formula was suppose to double the power of any machinery, including robots," Jason explained.  
  
"Sounds like something Wily would love to get his hands on," Roll pointed out.  
  
"There's no need to worry about that, Roll. Even if my father did succeed with his robotic formula, it would be in his secret laboratory, and not even we know where his lab is located," Jason explained, unaware that a Batonton spy bat was watching them through the glass roof of the library...  
  
"So, Dr. Stoutenburg found a way to increase a robot's strength, did he?" Dr. Wily muttered thoughtfully to himself in his thick German accent. He was in his secret hideout, the Skull Fortress, watching the footage from his Batonton spy bat, along with ProtoMan.  
  
"What's so special about this formula anyway, Dr. Wily?" ProtoMan asked curiously.  
  
"There have been rumors that Dr. Stoutenburg was working on a secret formula that could double any robot's strengths, such as powers, speed, undt intelligence."  
  
"I know some bots that definitely need improvement in the intelligence department!" ProtoMan retorted.  
  
"If Dr. Stoutenburg finished the formula before his death, I can use it on my robots, making them all stronger undt more powerful, undt there's no way that MegaMan will be able to stop us!" Dr. Wily exclaimed gleefully with a sinister laugh.  
  
"Just one problem, Wily. You don't even know if this so-called formula really exists," ProtoMan pointed out.  
  
"The formula does exist, Proto, my boy. Otherwise, how would Dr. Stoutenburg's son know about it?" Dr. Wily asked. "If Dr. Stoutenburg perfected his formula, he would have told someone about it before he died, undt odds are he would have told a member of his family. ProtoMan, get GutsMan, CutMan, undt SnakeMan. We're going to pay Mr. Stoutenburg a little visit." "You got it," ProtoMan replied as he left the room...  
  
"Thank you, Rose," Jason replied as the robotic housekeeper brought him his lunch. He was in the library, working hard on some important papers he brought with him from California.  
  
"Will there be anything else, Mr. Stoutenburg?" Rose asked.  
  
"No, that'll be all, Rose," Jason replied. Rose nodded as she turned around and left Jason alone in the library. Jason picked up the mug of coffee and took a sip. As he brought the mug down, Jason glanced at a framed picture of himself and Miranda on the desk and smiled a bit. Just then, Jason heard a loud banging coming from the front door.  
  
"Now, who could that be?" Jason asked himself as he stood up and opened the library door slightly. Looking down the hall, Jason could see Rose approaching the front door.  
  
"May I help you?" Rose asked as she opened the front door.  
  
To Jason's surprise, Rose was punched hard by a large bulky figure and hit the wall hard, causing her to shut down. Jason gasped slightly when he recognized the four robots standing in the doorway.  
  
"Wily's robots? What are they doing here?" Jason quickly closed the library door and locked it up. He grabbed the telephone off of the desk and pressed a few buttons.  
  
"Hello, police? I need you to come to the Stoutenburg estate right away. Dr. Wily's robots have broken in and-Hello? Hello?" Jason repeated when he suddenly heard nothing but a dial tone. He looked down and gasped when he saw that the phone line had been disconnected. Embedded in the floor nearby was a pair of large white scissor blades.  
  
"Sorry, Stoutenburg, but your phone line has been cut! He-heh, he-heh, he- heh!" CutMan admitted with a sinister chuckle.  
  
Jason turned around and gasped when he saw all four robots inside of the library. The door to the library had been ripped off by its hinges and tossed aside like a piece of cheap cardboard.  
  
"You're coming with us!" GutsMan proclaimed.  
  
"Dr. Wily wishesss to have a word with you, Missster Ssstoutenburg!" SnakeMan hissed.  
  
"You can forget it! I'm not going anywhere with you!" Jason shouted.  
  
"Oh, is that so?" ProtoMan asked sarcastically as he walked over to the desk and picked up the picture. "You'll soon change your tune."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Jason asked suspiciously.  
  
"Here's an idea. How about we wait until your daughter gets home, so she can join us, too?" ProtoMan suggested as he showed Jason the picture. "As you humans say, the more the merrier!"  
  
"No! Leave my daughter alone!" Jason pleaded.  
  
"So, are you gonna cooperate with us now?" ProtoMan asked as he put the picture back on the desk.  
  
Jason let out a long sigh, knowing now that he had no choice. "All right, I'll go with you. But just leave my daughter out of this!"  
  
"I knew you'd see it my way," ProtoMan remarked. "Take him to the Skull Car. I got something to take care of first."  
  
"Sure thing, ProtoMan," GutsMan replied as he picked up Jason, slung him over his shoulder, and carried him out of the house, followed by CutMan and SnakeMan...  
  
"Miranda?" MegaMan shouted as he entered the Stoutenburg home, followed by Rush and Roll. The house was swarming with police officers, both humans and robots alike.  
  
After a few moments of looking around, MegaMan finally spotted Miranda. She was sitting on the staircase, with an officer asking her some questions. It was obvious that Miranda was upset.  
  
"MegaMan! Roll! You're here!" Miranda admitted a bit happily as she stood up and wiped away some tears that were forming in her eyes.  
  
"What happened here?" Roll asked curiously as she looked around at the mess that was left behind.  
  
"I'm not sure, Roll. When I got home from school a while ago, the police were already here, the library was trashed, Rose was out like a light, and my dad was gone," Miranda revealed.  
  
"I don't like the looks of this," MegaMan muttered out loud when he noticed that the door leading to the library had been literally ripped off of its hinges.  
  
"MegaMan, we retrieved this footage from the security surveillance system," the officer announced as he showed MegaMan and Roll a videocassette. "This is the reason why we called you. It appears that Dr. Wily's robots were responsible for Mr. Stoutenburg's disappearance."  
  
"Show me," MegaMan requested.  
  
"We can watch it in the living room," Miranda suggested as the group of five walked into the living room. The police officer approached the television set and put the tape into the VCR. A few moments later, the security video revealed the events that unfolded in the library.  
  
"It's ProtoMan, GutsMan, CutMan, and SnakeMan!" Roll exclaimed.  
  
"But I don't get it, MegaMan. What would Dr. Wily want with my dad?" Miranda asked.  
  
"I wish I knew, Miranda. Don't worry, we'll get your dad back," MegaMan reassured Miranda.  
  
"We'll be returning back to headquarters now. If you need any help, just give us a call," the police officer announced as he and the rest of the police force left the house.  
  
"Maybe you should stay at Dr. Light's for a while, Miranda, until this whole thing blows over," MegaMan suggested.  
  
"Thanks, MegaMan, but I'd rather stay here," Miranda replied.  
  
"Well...okay," MegaMan reluctantly agreed, "but you won't be alone. I'll stay here and guard the place, in case Wily's bots come back."  
  
While MegaMan and Miranda were talking, Roll was looking over the damaged robotic housekeeper. "In the meantime, I'll take Rose to Dr. Light's lab and see if he can fix her up for you," Roll announced as she picked up Rose.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Roll. I really appreciate everything that you're doing for me," Miranda admitted.  
  
"No problem, Miranda. I'll take the plasma jet back to the lab. See you later, Mega," Roll replied as she left the house while carrying Rose.  
  
"Are you sure there's nothing that Dr. Wily would want with your father, Miranda?" MegaMan inquired.  
  
"Nothing that I can think of, MegaMan. I don't know what Wily would want with a lawyer. It'd make more sense if he tried kidnapping my grandfather...that is, if he was still alive," Miranda replied.  
  
"What about that robotic formula that your dad was talking about last night?" MegaMan asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah, maybe, but how would Dr. Wily know about it in the first place?" Miranda asked.  
  
"He could have been spying on us with one of his spy bats. He's done it before," MegaMan muttered thoughtfully.  
  
"But there's one problem, Mega. Even though my grandfather told my dad about the formula, he didn't actually tell him the formula itself," Miranda revealed. "The secret formula died along with my grandfather without him telling a soul about it. You don't think Wily will hurt my dad, do you, MegaMan?"  
  
"Don't worry, Miranda, he won't hurt your dad. I'll make sure of it," MegaMan told Miranda...  
  
"So, here's the deal, Mr. Stoutenburg," Dr. Wily told Jason, who was locked up in a crude prison cell with stone walls and steel bars. Jason had no idea where he was. All he knew was that he was in some sort of cave. "You tell me what I want to know, undt I'll set you free. If you don't tell me what I want, GutsMan here will turn you into a human pretzel!" To prove his point, GutsMan picked up a steel bar and bent and twisted it into a pretzel shape.  
  
"All right, Dr. Wily. I'll tell you anything you want to know," Jason replied.  
  
"Tell me the robotic formula created by your father, Dr. Stoutenburg," Dr. Wily requested.  
  
"Except for that!" Jason revealed.  
  
"Undt why not?" Dr. Wily demanded.  
  
"Because he never told me the formula, Wily!" Jason shouted.  
  
"You're lying! You're just trying to keep the formula to yourself!" Dr. Wily accused Jason.  
  
"I'm telling you, I don't know the formula!" Jason insisted.  
  
"We have ways of making you talk," Dr. Wily muttered out loud as he turned to ProtoMan. "Proto, go back to Mr. Stoutenburg's house and fetch that daughter of his."  
  
"No, don't!" Jason pleaded.  
  
"Then tell me what I want to know!" Dr. Wily demanded.  
  
"Like I told you before, I don't know my father's robotic formula," Jason insisted once again.  
  
"Maybe some time alone will refresh your memory," Dr. Wily announced as he, ProtoMan, GutsMan, CutMan, and SnakeMan turned around and headed for a flight of stone stairs on the opposite side of the room.  
  
"What now, Doc?" ProtoMan asked.  
  
"It could be possible that Mr. Stoutenburg is telling the truth," Dr. Wily muttered out loud as he and his four robots reached a makeshift lab inside of the cave. "I doubt that the secret formula died with Dr. Stoutenburg, though. He must have written it down somewhere, undt if he did, he would keep it in his secret laboratory."  
  
"There's a problem with that, Wily. No one knows where Dr. Stoutenburg's secret lab is, not even his own family!" ProtoMan pointed out.  
  
"I know, ProtoMan, I know!" Dr. Wily shouted. "Did you plant the bugs in the telephones like I asked you to?"  
  
"Of course I did, Doc," ProtoMan replied.  
  
"Excellent! One way or another, we'll find out the formula undt the location of Dr. Stoutenburg's lab!" Dr. Wily admitted gleefully as he rubbed his hands together...  
  
"Hey, MegaMan. Hey, Rush," Miranda greeted the Blue Bomber and his robotic dog as she walked downstairs from her upstairs bedroom. She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, black shoes, and a red blouse.  
  
"Morning, Miranda. Did you sleep well?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"Not really. I'm still worried about my dad," Miranda revealed. "So, how did everything go last night? Any unexpected visitors?"  
  
"No sign of Wily's bots at all last night," MegaMan reported. Just then, there was a loud knock at the door. MegaMan silently warned Miranda to be quiet as he crept up to the door and peered through the peephole.  
  
"It's okay, Miranda. It's just Roll," MegaMan revealed as he opened the door, letting Roll inside, who was carrying Rose with her.  
  
"How's Rose, Roll? Did Dr. Light fix her?" Miranda asked curiously as Roll set the robot housekeeper down on the floor.  
  
"See for yourself, Miranda," Roll announced as she opened a panel on Rose's stomach and pressed a red button, activating the robot.  
  
Rose immediately opened her eyes and asked, "Miss Miranda, are you okay? The last thing I remember were those brutish robots breaking into the house and knocking me out cold."  
  
"I'm just fine, Rose. MegaMan was here with me the whole time," Miranda told Rose.  
  
"Well, I better fix that library door," Rose announced as she walked over to the library.  
  
Just then, MegaMan's communicator started going off. MegaMan pressed a button on his plasma cannon and asked, "What's going on, Dr. Light?"  
  
"MegaMan, GutsMan and CutMan have been spotted outside of the mayor's office," Dr. Light announced.  
  
"I'm on my way," MegaMan replied before turning off the communicator. "Looks like I have to leave now, Miranda. Roll, do you mind keeping Miranda company until I get back?"  
  
"No problem, Mega," Roll replied.  
  
"Come on, Rush!" MegaMan shouted.  
  
"Yeah, yeah!" Rush barked as he converted into jet mode. MegaMan stood on top of Rush and they both flew out through the open door.  
  
"Miranda, where are you going?" Roll asked as she followed Miranda into the library.  
  
"I'm going to check all of my grandfather's notes. Maybe he wrote down the robotic formula in them somewhere," Miranda explained as she approached the tall shelf of books.  
  
"This could take forever, Miranda! We don't even have an idea where to start looking!" Roll exclaimed as she looked at the hundreds of books stocked on the shelf.  
  
"It has to be here somewhere, Roll," Miranda replied as she climbed a small stepladder to reach the top shelf. As she looked at the numerous books stocked on the top shelf, Miranda spotted something out of place. "That's weird," Miranda muttered out loud.  
  
"What are you talking about, Miranda?" Roll asked curiously.  
  
"What's a book on marine biology doing on a shelf full of books on robotics?" Miranda wondered aloud as she grabbed the book. As Miranda pulled on the book, she realized that the book was attached to the bookshelf by a metal hinge. She could also feel something within the wall moving.  
  
"Miranda, look!" Roll gasped as she pointed at a section of the bookshelf. Miranda looked where Roll was pointing and gasped when she saw a section of the bookshelf silently slide open like a door, revealing a dark tunnel.  
  
"Wow! A secret passage!" Miranda exclaimed as she got off of the stepladder.  
  
Rose looked up from the door that she was fixing, noticed the dark tunnel, and asked, "What's a secret passage doing there? I certainly don't recall it being there."  
  
"Do you think that maybe this tunnel leads to your grandfather's secret lab?" Roll asked.  
  
"There's only one way to find out," Miranda muttered out loud as she stared at the dark tunnel. "Do you have a flashlight on you, Roll?"  
  
"Of course," Roll replied as her utility cannon produced a large flashlight.  
  
"Rose, you stay up here and keep an eye out for us," Miranda instructed the robot housekeeper. "The last thing we want is Dr. Wily and his robots finding out about this place, especially if it does turn out to be my grandpa's lab."  
  
"Certainly, Miss Miranda," Rose replied.  
  
"Come on, Roll. Let's check this place out," Miranda announced.  
  
"You got it, Miranda," Roll replied as the two girls entered the dark abyss...  
  
"There they are, Rush!" MegaMan shouted as he and Rush approached the mayor's office. CutMan and GutsMan were right outside of the building, causing major damage to the building and the surrounding telephone poles.  
  
"Look! It's MegaMan!" CutMan exclaimed as he pointed at the blue robot and his red robo-dog as they landed on the street just a few yards away from them.  
  
"I'll get that Blue Dweeb!" GutsMan shouted as he charged towards MegaMan and Rush.  
  
"Haven't you learn anything, Gutsy? Don't mess with plasma power!" MegaMan retorted as he fired a blast from his plasma cannon at a manhole cover a couple of feet in front of him. The plasma blast knocked off the manhole cover just as GutsMan was about to run over it.  
  
"What the?" GutsMan exclaimed as he fell through the open manhole up to his waist, where he got stuck. "Hey! Get me outta here!"  
  
"Sorry, GutsMan, but that's not part of my plan," MegaMan remarked as he and Rush ran past GutsMan, who was struggling to pull himself free of the manhole.  
  
"I'm going to make paper dolls out of you, Mega Jerk!" CutMan proclaimed as he fired the scissor blade from the top of his head at MegaMan.  
  
"Get down!" MegaMan shouted as he and Rush ducked, barely avoiding CutMan's attack. The scissor blade spun around like a boomerang and reconnected to CutMan's head.  
  
CutMan looked over at GutsMan, who managed to break loose from the manhole. "Come on, GutsMan! Let's beat it!"  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" GutsMan mumbled angrily as he and CutMan ran down the street.  
  
"What's the matter, guys? Leaving so soon?" MegaMan asked as he and Rush gave chase. "The plasma party's just beginning!" They followed GutsMan and CutMan down the street when Wily's two robots suddenly turned into an alley.  
  
"We've got them now, Rush! That alley's a dead end!" MegaMan shouted as he and Rush ran into the alley.  
  
"Huh? No way! They disappeared!" MegaMan exclaimed as he looked around at the empty alley.  
  
"Ruff, ruff! Disappeared!" Rush barked. The two heroes never noticed the Skull Car leaving the city, with ProtoMan, GutsMan, CutMan, SnakeMan and Jason Stoutenburg all on board.  
  
"What I don't get is what they were doing at the mayor's office in the first place," MegaMan muttered thoughtfully to himself as he and Rush left the alley.  
  
"Yeah! Ruff, ruff!" Rush agreed.  
  
"CutMan and GutsMan were pretty much just standing there. It was like they were waiting for us, Rush," MegaMan muttered thoughtfully. He suddenly stopped walking and gasped when he realized something. "Oh, no! I have a feeling that CutMan and GutsMan were just a distraction to get me away from Miranda's house. We gotta get back there, Rush!"  
  
"Right!" Rush barked as he converted back into jet mode. MegaMan jumped on top of Rush as he took off in the air.  
  
"I just hope I can get back in time!" MegaMan muttered out loud as they left the city...  
  
"This place looks kinda creepy," Roll confessed as she and Miranda continued down the flight of stairs.  
  
"I just hope we find what we're looking for, Roll," Miranda revealed. They finally reached the bottom of the stairs and found themselves in a dark room. By swinging her flashlight back and forth, Roll found a light switch in the stone wall.  
  
"I found a light switch, Miranda. Let's see what's in here," Roll announced as she flipped the light switch. The lights instantly flickered on, revealing a large room with a massive computer mainframe, a large table, several tools used for building robots and machinery, a rack containing a dozen glass test tubes on the table, a shelf filled with an array of chemicals and computer chips, a television set with a VCR, and a video camera on a tripod.  
  
"This is it! My grandfather's lab!" Miranda exclaimed a bit out of excitement as she looked around the room.  
  
"What's with the video camera?" Roll asked curiously as she pointed at the video camera.  
  
"My grandpa had a habit of recording all of his experiments," Miranda explained. "Besides recording his experiments to document them, he did it for a little extra insurance, so no one could steal his ideas and claim that they came up with it."  
  
"That was pretty smart of him," Roll admitted as she looked at a small shelf full of videotapes, each marked by date and the title of the experiment.  
  
"Hey, Miranda! I think I found something!" Roll announced as she removed one of the videotapes from the shelf. She showed Miranda the videotape, which was labeled "Liquid Robotic Enhancer."  
  
"That sounds like the formula my grandfather was working on before he passed away," Miranda replied. "Let's see what's on it, Roll."  
  
Roll nodded in agreement as she popped the tape into the VCR and turned on the television set. A few seconds later, Miranda's grandfather appeared on the screen, obviously in his laboratory, standing behind the table.  
  
"Today, I am testing a new serum I have developed to be used on robots and machines," Dr. Stoutenburg reported. "When applied to any machinery's power source, this special chemical mixture can double any machinery's ordinary output. This formula can also be used on robots, doubling all their attributes, such as strength, speed, and artificial intelligence. Allow me to demonstrate on this robot toy."  
  
Dr. Stoutenburg picked up a toy robot from the table and flipped a switch on the back of it. He placed it back on the table, allowing the toy to slowly walk around the table in a circle.  
  
"Now to apply my specially formulated liquid robotic enhancer," Dr. Stoutenburg announced as he picked up the robot toy and turned it off. Dr. Stoutenburg opened the back panel of the toy, revealing the batteries. He opened the small bottle and filled the medicine dropper, which was attached to the lid, with the thick dark olive green liquid. Using the medicine dropper, Dr. Stoutenburg squeezed out a single drop onto the toy's batteries. As a result, the robot toy radiated a white glow for a few seconds. Dr. Stoutenburg closed the back panel and turned the toy back on. Upon placing in on the table, the robot toy started running around the table at a much faster speed.  
  
"Wow! That's incredible!" Miranda admitted.  
  
"My formula is very concentrated, so it only takes one drop directly onto the power source of the machine or robot," Dr. Stoutenburg continued. "Any more, and the circuitry will become overwhelmed and eventually cause extensive damage to the machinery, making it no longer functional." After he finished speaking, Dr. Stoutenburg walked around the table, approached the television screen, and the screen soon became blank.  
  
"Looks like that's all there is to that tape," Roll replied as she turned off the television set.  
  
"Looks like this is the same stuff he used in the video, Roll," Miranda announced as she removed a small bottle from the shelf full of chemicals, identical to the one in the video recording. "It's also labeled 'Liquid Robotic Enhancer.' "  
  
"Come on, Miranda. Let's call MegaMan and tell him the good news," Roll suggested.  
  
"All right," Miranda agreed as she put the bottle in her pocket. Roll turned off the lights before she and Miranda headed back upstairs to the library.  
  
"Any sign of Wily's bots, Rose?" Miranda asked the robot housekeeper, who had just finished reattaching the library door.  
  
"I haven't seen or heard anything out of the ordinary, Miss Miranda," Rose replied as she helped Miranda and Roll push the bookshelf back into place. After they finished putting the bookshelf back, Roll walked over to the desk, picked up the telephone, and dialed a number.  
  
"MegaMan, it's Roll. Come in," Roll replied.  
  
"What's going on, Roll?" MegaMan asked.  
  
"You're not gonna believe this, but Miranda and I found Dr. Stoutenburg's secret formula for robots!" Roll admitted.  
  
"That's great, Roll! But you better keep an eye out," MegaMan warned his sister.  
  
"What do you mean, Mega?" Roll asked curiously.  
  
"That stunt outside of the mayor's office was just a distraction to get me away from the house," MegaMan explained. "Wily must have found out that Mr. Stoutenburg doesn't know the formula by now, so he's probably sending his bots back to try and find it."  
  
"Where are you, MegaMan?" Roll asked.  
  
"I'm on my way back. In case I don't make it back in time, Roll, try to hold them off," MegaMan instructed.  
  
"Don't worry, Mega. I'll have everything under control," Roll replied. She was about to hang up the phone when she spotted something unusual attached to the receiver.  
  
"What's this?" Roll asked herself as she pulled what looked like a small computer chip off of the telephone's receiver. "Uh-oh!"  
  
"What's wrong, Roll?" Miranda asked as she approached Roll.  
  
"I found a bug on your phone, Miranda," Roll revealed as she showed Miranda the bug she pulled out of the phone. "That means Wily's bots now know that we found Dr. Stoutenburg's secret formula!" At that very moment, there was a loud banging coming from the front door.  
  
"Sounds like we've got company!" Roll announced as she, Miranda, and Rose entered the main hallway.  
  
"Better open up in there, or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll beat your door down!" a familiar voice shouted from behind the front door.  
  
"It's GutsMan!" Roll exclaimed.  
  
"And I'll slice and dice you into shreds!" another voice threatened.  
  
"That sounds like CutMan!" Miranda added.  
  
"Miranda, those bad bots are gonna break in any second now. I want you to get out of here!" Roll instructed.  
  
"But what about you, Roll?" Miranda asked worriedly.  
  
"Don't worry about me, Miranda, I'll be okay," Roll assured Miranda. "Besides, MegaMan's on his way back. Just get out of here with the formula so that Wily's bots don't get it."  
  
"All right, Roll," Miranda reluctantly agreed. Suddenly, the front door fell to the floor, revealing GutsMan and CutMan.  
  
"Run, Miranda!" Roll shouted. Miranda nodded as she ran for the back door.  
  
"Destroying you will be shear delight!" CutMan admitted as he fired two scissor blades at Roll from his arm cannon. Roll quickly sucked up the flying scissor blades with her vacuum attachment.  
  
"You shouldn't throw your toys around like that, CutMan!" Roll retorted as she switched her vacuum into reverse and sent the scissor blades flying back at CutMan and GutsMan.  
  
"Look out!" CutMan shouted as he and GutsMan dropped down to the floor, barely avoiding the flying scissor blades coming at them...  
  
"I hope MegaMan comes back soon," Miranda muttered to herself as she closed the double doors behind her. She was now on the patio deck in the spacious back yard of her grandfather's house. Miranda was so busy watching what was going on inside of the house that she didn't notice someone sneaking up from behind her. Suddenly, Miranda was surprised to hear a twig snap from behind her. She turned around and gasped when she recognized the green robot standing there.  
  
"SnakeMan!" Miranda gasped as she made a run for it.  
  
"Not ssso fassst!" SnakeMan shouted as he fired one of his snake-shaped missiles in Miranda's direction. The snake missile flew past Miranda's head and gnawed off a large branch off of a tree in her path.  
  
"Oh, no!" Miranda gasped when she saw the branch falling from the tree a few feet away from her. She stopped just in time before the branch ended up falling on her head. This gave SnakeMan the opportunity to catch up with Miranda.  
  
"I've got you now!" SnakeMan boasted as he grabbed Miranda.  
  
"Let me go!" Miranda shouted as she struggled to break free from SnakeMan's grasp.  
  
"I don't think ssso!" SnakeMan hissed as he dragged a struggling Miranda over to the Skull Car parked by the side of the house. As the two approached the Skull Car, the back door slid open and ProtoMan stepped out of the Skull Car.  
  
"So, you must be Miranda!" ProtoMan remarked as he approached SnakeMan and Miranda.  
  
"So what if I am?" Miranda retorted angrily.  
  
"We've heard that you found your grandpa's secret formula for robots. Hand it over!" ProtoMan demanded.  
  
"Why don't you go throw yourself in a trash compactor?" Miranda shouted as she tried once again to break free from SnakeMan's grasp without success.  
  
"Oh, I'm so hurt!" ProtoMan mocked sarcastically. "You better give up that formula or else!"  
  
"Or else what?" Miranda asked as ProtoMan walked back to the Skull Car and reached inside with his free hand.  
  
"Or else your father here will be blasted to little bits!" ProtoMan revealed as he pulled Jason out of the Skull Car.  
  
"Dad!" Miranda gasped out of surprise.  
  
"So, what's it gonna be?" ProtoMan asked as he held his plasma cannon against Jason's head. "The formula, or your father?"  
  
"Fine, ProtoMan. Just don't hurt him," Miranda reluctantly agreed.  
  
"I knew you'd see it my way," ProtoMan admitted. SnakeMan let go of Miranda as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the bottle containing her grandfather's formula.  
  
"You gotta be kidding me! That dinky little thing is the formula?" ProtoMan asked suspiciously.  
  
"Afraid so," Miranda explained. "This stuff's very concentrated. You're only supposed to add one drop directly to the power source. Any more, and your circuits will get so fried that Wily will have to rebuild you from scratch!"  
  
"A deal's a deal. Now hand it over," ProtoMan insisted.  
  
"Let go of my dad first, then I'll give you the formula," Miranda replied. "Call me crazy, but I don't exactly trust you, ProtoMan."  
  
"You got it, but don't even think about double-crossing me!" ProtoMan warned Miranda as he pushed Jason over towards Miranda.  
  
"Dad, are you okay?" Miranda asked curiously.  
  
"I'm just fine, Miranda," Jason replied as he hugged his daughter.  
  
"Aww, how touching! I could cry, if I were programmed that way!" ProtoMan retorted mockingly. "Now, about that formula..."  
  
"All right," Miranda reluctantly agreed as she handed ProtoMan the small bottle.  
  
"Excellent. SnakeMan, go get GutsMan and CutMan! We're out of here!" ProtoMan told SnakeMan.  
  
"I don't think so, ProtoMan!" a familiar voice shouted from above everyone's heads. ProtoMan, SnakeMan, Jason, and Miranda looked up and saw MegaMan flying towards them on Rush.  
  
"MegaMan!" Miranda shouted.  
  
"Keep him busy, SnakeMan!" ProtoMan instructed SnakeMan.  
  
"With pleasssure!" SnakeMan agreed as he fired several snake missiles at MegaMan.  
  
"Look out, Rush!" MegaMan warned Rush as they dodged the numerous snake missiles flying at them.  
  
"Now, let's see if this formula's all it's cracked up to be," ProtoMan muttered to himself as he opened a panel on his plasma canon, revealing the internal circuits and wires. He took the medicine dropper out of the bottle with his free hand and squeezed a single drop onto his circuits.  
  
"Oh, no!" Miranda gasped when she and Jason saw ProtoMan encased in a white glow.  
  
"I can feel it!" ProtoMan admitted as the mysterious glow faded away. He quickly closed the panel on his plasma cannon and aimed it at MegaMan and Rush up in the sky.  
  
"MegaMan, look out!" Miranda shouted as ProtoMan fired a massive blast of blue plasma at MegaMan.  
  
"Sizzling circuits!" MegaMan exclaimed out of shock when he saw the blast of plasma heading towards him. MegaMan and Rush tried desperately to move out of the way, but the blast ended up striking one of Rush's engines.  
  
"Uh-oh!" Rush groaned loudly as thick smoke billowed out of his damaged engine.  
  
"We're going down!" MegaMan shouted as he and Rush plummeted down to the ground below.  
  
"AHH!" MegaMan and Rush screamed as they hit the ground hard, forming a huge hole in the ground.  
  
"MegaMan! Rush!" Miranda shouted.  
  
"That takes care of them!" ProtoMan admitted smugly as he pressed a button on his plasma cannon. "CutMan, GutsMan, get your circuits to the Skull Car! We got what we came for."  
  
"Gotcha, ProtoMan," GutsMan's voice replied over ProtoMan's communicator. A few moments later, GutsMan and CutMan ran out of the house towards the Skull Car, followed by Roll.  
  
"I don't think so, sis!" ProtoMan remarked.  
  
"I'm not your sis!" Roll shouted.  
  
ProtoMan quickly fired a plasma blast at Roll. "Whoa!" Roll shouted as she jumped in the air, barely avoiding the powerful plasma blast.  
  
"Quick, get in!" ProtoMan instructed as GutsMan, CutMan, and SnakeMan got into the Skull Car. Before he got into the Skull Car, ProtoMan turned his head towards Miranda, smirked a bit, and remarked, "Thanks."  
  
Miranda stared angrily at ProtoMan as he got into the Skull Car before it took off.  
  
"They're getting away!" Roll shouted as she joined Miranda and Jason. "Where's MegaMan?"  
  
"He's...over there," Miranda reluctantly admitted with her head hung down in shame, pointing over at the large hole in the ground.  
  
"MegaMan!" Roll shouted as she ran towards the hole, along with Jason and Miranda. When they reached the large hole, Roll gasped loudly when she saw MegaMan and Rush lying down on the ground, both with obvious signs of extensive damage.  
  
"MegaMan! Rush!" Roll shouted as she climbed in the hole to check on MegaMan and Rush. MegaMan's firing arm was almost completely disconnected from his shoulder, and his body was covered with small dings and scratches from the fall. Rush's body was also covered with several dings and scratches, and his damaged engine was still releasing a stream of thick smoke.  
  
"Miranda, I need you to go to the plasma jet and get Doc right away," Roll told Miranda. "We need to get them back to Dr. Light so he can fix them."  
  
"You got it, Roll," Miranda replied as she and Jason ran to the front of the house to get the little yellow emergency repair robot out of the plasma jet...TO BE CONTINUED 


End file.
